Deep Purple preserved in DNA

"Smoke on the water" by Deep Purple has been preserved in DNA for UNESCO’s Memory of the World Archive.

With the help of Microsoft and Twist Bioscience, an experimental procedure marks the first time that DNA has been used to record information. It comes as part of the work that is underway to use DNA as a secure long-term medium.

A recording from Montreux Jazz Festivals archives was encoded using nucleoid bases.

“This is a very exciting project,” Bill Peck, chief technology officer of Twist Biotech, toldFirstpost. “We are now in an age where we can use the remarkable efficiencies of nature to archive master copies of our cultural heritage in DNA.”

“As we develop the economies of this process, new performances can be added anytime,” Peck said. “Unlike current storage technologies, nature’s media will not change and will remain readable through time. There will be no new technology to replace DNA – nature has already optimized the format.”

“Smoke on the Water” was written in 1971 as Deep Purple’s eyewitness reaction to the Montreux Casino burning down. It’s remained a key part of the band’s live shows in the decades since then.